How Toronto’s Art Scene Is Making a Global Impact

On the shore of Lake Ontario, Toronto’s art scene is defined by the city’s variety. Drawing from a vast pool of multicultural influences (the city is the most diverse in the world), Toronto houses a rapidly growing art scene fostered by its tight-knit community of galleries. In recent years, Canadian art has made strides in the global art market, with Toronto-based artists leading the charge. Art Toronto 2023, open from October 26th through 29th, will spotlight how local galleries are playing a pivotal role in this growth.

Nicolas Rukaj, now at the helm of Rukaj Gallery—initially established by his father in 1981—has observed a pivotal shift in the Canadian art world. He notes that today’s Canadian painters aren’t pressured to move abroad for recognition, a change he believes is indicative of the globalization in the art market more broadly.

Rukaj pointed to the re-emergence of William Perehudoff, an abstract artist whose talent remained overlooked for years, and expressed optimism about the trajectory of art originating in Canada.

“The standard way of becoming big as a Canadian painter is you attend art school in the U.S., you make a name in the U.S., and then you come back after you’ve developed your market,” Rukaj said. “But now, you don’t have to move because a lot of painters get their inspiration from living in Canada. There’s a sense of hope for a painter where ‘I don’t have to move to Red Hook with everybody else and paint. I can paint here and still be a force.’”

This artistic momentum is largely thanks to the city’s thriving art infrastructure, allowing local artists to build recognition and hone their practice without leaving the country. The city has a wealth of nonprofit institutions, such as the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto, and Mercer Union.

Additionally, commercial galleries, such as Odon Wagner Gallery and Daniel Faria Gallery, are generating a constant stream of collaboration between artists, collectors—both international and domestic—and the local community. According to a survey from the Toronto Art Council, 70% of Torontonians regularly attend, volunteer, or donate to the city’s artistic and cultural institutions and events.

“We are fortunate to have a city that offers a wealth of chances to view and experience showings of fine art,” Rafael Wagner, managing director at Toronto’s Odon Wagner Gallery, told Artsy, mentioning exhibitions including Marc Chagall at Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto, and Keith Haring’s upcoming exhibition at AGO. “Toronto is blessed to have such ambitious institutions,” he added.

The influence of these establishments hasn’t gone unnoticed in the art community, especially for local risk takers. Daniel Faria, founder of Daniel Faria Gallery in Toronto’s West End, believes that “a vibrant scene includes all types of venues, including the established senior programs, but mostly the smaller younger spaces showing challenging work and taking chances. This is the case for any city, and it’s very strong in Toronto at the moment. Chances are being taken, which is always inspiring.”

Highlighting this, Daniel Faria Gallery is set to showcase Vancouver-based Douglas Coupland’s “The New Ice Age” during the fair week. Faria elaborated on Art Toronto’s local impact, sharing that it offers “cross-pollination between collectors, gallerists, artists, and museums from across the country. The fair adds a dynamic energy to Toronto, and it is one of the best weeks of the year for the local scene.”

Bau-Xi Gallery, a bastion of the city’s contemporary art scene since 1976, has championed diversity in Toronto’s art scene for decades, especially on the international stage. “There is a diversity that is being fostered by galleries within the city—both commercial and institutional, encouraging a critical discourse,” noted Ellen Kirwin, the sales manager at the gallery.

Kirwin believes that the “‘Canadian landscape’ has global appeal.” For instance, the gallery’s artists—Erin Armstrong, a young Toronto-based painter; Gavin Lynch, a Canadian painter based in Wakefield, Quebec; and Kyle Schuermann, a painter based in Northern Ontario—have all experienced recent international success. Lynch’s paintings are “Canadian landscapes for the digital age, the ‘Group of Seven’ electrified,” according to Kirwin, referring to the traditional school of Canadian landscape artists like Frank Johnston and Arthur Lisme, who believed that a distinctive Canadian art could be found in nature.

Across Toronto, artists like Armstrong and Lynch are carving a space in the Canadian art world, inspiring local collectors to purchase domestically rather than internationally sourced art. As Kirwin told Artsy, “Canadians are increasingly looking to be challenged by their collections, not necessarily adhering to the tropes of traditional ‘Group of Seven’–styled landscapes, or the sentimentalities of Canadiana. Galleries and patrons are looking for their collections to reflect their values.”

These evolving tastes reflect not only a maturing art market, but also a deepening engagement with art on a global scale. Every year, with 110 galleries and more than 20,000 visitors, Art Toronto bridges Canada’s art community and the international art market. “Galleries and artists no longer need to travel south to meet and network with high-profile curators and visionaries,” Mia Nielsen, director of the fair, told Artsy.